Isn't It Pretty To Think So?

A Late Fragment

"And did you get what you wanted from this life, even so?"/
"I did"/
"And what did you want?"/
"To call myself beloved, to feel myself beloved on the earth."
- the last poem written by Raymond Carver, on a scrap of paper in his hospital bed

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Unexceptionalism: A Primer

E.L. Doctorow's recent NY Times OP-ED piece is a pretty strong indictment of the United States policies over the last 13 years. We have our work cut out for us to undo a lot of this damage.

"TO achieve unexceptionalism, the political ideal that would render the
United States indistinguishable from the impoverished, traditionally
undemocratic, brutal or catatonic countries of the world, do the
following:

PHASE ONE

If you’re a justice of the Supreme Court, ignore the first sacrament of a
democracy and suspend the counting of ballots in a presidential
election. Appoint the candidate of your choice as president.

If you’re the newly anointed president, react to a terrorist attack by
invading a nonterrorist country. Despite the loss or disablement of
untold numbers of lives, manage your war so that its results will be
indeterminate."

The list goes on and on...

The beginning of the Constitution resonates: "In order to form a more perfect Union..." We have regressed. Nothing to do but roll up our sleeves and get back to doing the hard work necessary to treat everyone fairly and provide equal opportunities for all.